Economic and Social Council Youth Forum

"Accelerating the COVID-19 recovery and full

implementation of the 2030 Agenda with and for
youth”
MODERATED CONVERSATION:
#ECOSOCYF – YOUTH AS PIVOTAL AGENTS OF POSITIVE
CHANGE FOR COVID-19 RECOVERY & SDG
IMPLEMENTATION
25 April 2023, 9:30 AM – 10:15 AM (NY Time)
United Nations Headquarters, Trusteeship Council

Background

The ECOSOC Youth Forum is taking place at a time when the world is facing multiple,
cascading crises including cost-of-living challenges, conflicts and an escalating climate
emergency. Many countries are still dealing with the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis,
which has severely impacted the lives of young people and their social, educational and
economic activities.

According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), young people (aged 15–24)
face severe difficulties in finding and keeping decent employment. Their unemployment
rate is three times that of adults with more than one-in-five of young people (23.5 per
cent) who are not in employment, education or training (NEET). In addition, the ILO
stressed that “two thirds of the global youth labour force remain without a basic set of
skills, a circumstance that restricts their labour market opportunities and easily pushes
them into lower-quality forms of employment.”1

Young people are constantly aware of the challenges, impacts and risks presented by the
climate crisis. Whether through education, science or technology and activism, young
people are scaling up their efforts and using their skills to accelerate climate action and
increase Governments’ accountability to keep global warming to 1.5 degrees. Their
unprecedented mobilization around the world sets an example of how to demonstrate their

1
International Labour Organisation, World Employment and Social Outlook-Trends 2023, Pages 16-17
priorities for sustainable development and identify what is achievable when decision-makers
take the necessary actions. by .

Young people from across the world are also showing their enthusiasm, creativity,
determination and courage to address any roadblocks to implement the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs), the world’s most powerful framework to achieve prosperity
and a sustainable future while preserving planetary resources .. From gender equality to
education and skills development to fighting climate change, and protecting our oceans
and biodiversity, young people are invaluable agents of change, for current and future
generations.

Objectives

Young people play a critical role as innovators and implementers. They can help to steer
their societies toward a more equitable and sustainable future.
The purpose of the session will be to:
• Provide an opportunity for the world’s young people to leverage their
experiences, expertise and creative approaches towards accelerating the
implementation of the SDGs.
• Create a space for exchanges of views on lessons learned from recovering from
COVID-19 and building the necessary resilience to tackle future shocks.
• Discuss the role that young people can play in scaling up climate action and hold
decision-makers accountable.
• Address the meaningful engagement and participation of youth in the development
of policies in key areas of their interest (decent work, economic security, social
inclusion and cohesion, enhancing youth resilience and building peace).

Format

Mr. Sherwin Bryce-Pease, Bureau Chief and Correspondent, South African

Broadcasting Corp, United Nations will be the moderator of the opening session. The
objective is to generate a discussion to cover a variety of issues on the role of youth
today.

Biographies

Mr. Achim Steiner, Administrator, United Nations Nations

Development Programme (UNDP)

Achim Steiner became UNDP Administrator on 19 June 2017. The

United Nations General Assembly confirmed his appointment
following his nomination by Secretary-General António Guterres. In
April 2021, the General Assembly confirmed his appointment to a
second four-year term beginning in June 2021.
Mr. Steiner is also the Vice-Chair of the UN Sustainable Development Group, which
unites 40 entities of the UN system that work to support sustainable development.

Over nearly three decades, Achim Steiner has been a global leader on sustainable
development, climate resilience and international cooperation. He has worked tirelessly
to champion sustainability, economic growth and equality for the vulnerable, and has
been a vocal advocate for the Sustainable Development Goals. More…

Ms. Shantel Marekera, The 2018 Millennium Fellow, Rhodes

Scholar and Founder of Little Dreamers Foundation

Shantel Marekera is a Rhodes scholar who holds a law degree

from the University of Oxford.

She is the founder of the Little Dreamers Foundation, an initiative

that provides access to education for low-income children in
Harare, Zimbabwe. Through Little Dreamers Foundation's women
empowerment division, she has also supported the transition of 600+ women from low-
income families into decent work and self-employment using a community-based
approach to skills development.

She is currently working with the World Bank's Women, Business and the Law to
improve access to economic opportunities between men and women in 190 countries
around the world. Before joining the World Bank, she served as a member of UN
Women's Beijing+25 Youth Taskforce where she represented the voices of over 1 billion
youth across the world on different high-level platforms. She has been recognized by
UN Women as a leader for Generation Equality and a National Gender Youth Activist.
She was also awarded the 4th Annual Youth Activist Changemaker Award by Gucci and
Chime for Change for her advocacy work championing women and girls' rights across
the world.

Ms. Mai Sami Ahmed, Advocacy Officer Fellow from Save the
Children and Next Generation Fellow from the UN Foundation
Mai Sami is an Advocacy Officer Fellow (Child Rights and
Participation), in the Save the Children New York Advocacy Office
(NYAO). Her role is key to the office’s commitment to ensure the
protection and rights of children around the world through strategic
engagement in key moments, commissions, resolutions, and in the
UN space. She works in securing meaningful participation of children
in the UN Space and to inform that issues that disproportionately affect children are
clearly addressed in UN outcome documents and resolutions.
 Mr. Jichen Liu, Founder of Clear Plate and 2020 Young
Leaders for the SDGs

Jichen Liu is the founder and CEO of Clear Plate, an AI-based app
that rewards people for not wasting food. Launched in 2018, Clear
Plate has more than 9 million users now and is still fast growing. In
light of his enduring commitment to combating food waste, Jichen
was endorsed by UN as China's first Young Leader for the
Sustainable Development Goals. Jichen Liu is also a Schwarzman
Scholar, a fully funded master program at Tsinghua University
which aims to cultivate future global leaders.

Ms. Laura Lock, President of the Cambridge Climate Society

Laura Lock is a British and Hungarian student studying Politics and

Sociology at the University of Cambridge. She is the current
President of the Cambridge Climate Society and holds a keen
interest in deconstructing narratives of development, the
intersectionality of climate impacts, and expanding action for
climate empowerment.

As an advocate for youth engagement and climate education, Laura has worked as a
youth ambassador with several national and international organisations including the
ONE Campaign and the Centre for UN Constitutional Research, organising online
workshops, webinars, and hackathons. Most recently, Laura attended COP27 as a
member of the University of Cambridge delegation and CSW67 with UN Women UK.

Ms. Isidora Guzmán Silva, Young Leader for the SDGs and
Founder of "Encuetra tu Lugar" (Find your place)

Isidora Guzman is an 18 inclusion and gender equality activist from

Chile. At 13, she created an app to help people with disabilities find
parking spots. At 15, she founded the "Encuentra Tu Lugar"
Foundation to help people with disabilities find inclusive and
accessible places and connect their community with inclusion.

Isidora is a Young Changemaker of Ashoka Chile, National Gender Youth Activist at UN

Women, and a Generation Equality Adolescent Committee member. She has
participated as a speaker in different international forums, including the "Generation
Equality Forum" in Paris, the Asia Pacific UN Women "Youth Activism Accelerator," and
the "Girls Speak Out" event for International Day of the Girl, representing the UN
Women in 2021.

She is among the 17 young leaders for the Sustainable Development Goals recognized
by the UN Secretary-General's Envoy on Youth. Currently, she is a Law student at
"Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile".